Whether you’re looking for the perfect job, starting your own business, or building your career as a creative freelancer, your success depends on more than doing great work. Others must know you’re doing great work, which can only happen if you share your skills, accomplishments, and passions in a visible way. This means you need to promote yourself.

Many creatives are shy about self-promotion, as it feels hard to do so even when you know you’re worth promoting. Experiment with these ideas and you’ll develop habits that amplify your work, increase your presence in your community, and put you on track to seize opportunities, careers, and the life you want.

Learn the Basics of Marketing and Branding

As you build the groundwork for your promotional initiatives, you can use the same principles and strategies that guide the marketing and branding efforts of the world’s largest corporations. The basics are freely available in our brief guides to defining your personal brand and marketing yourself like a business – you just need to apply them. To start, make sure your creative portfolio represents you as well as possible. Then, test your efforts in the real world by attending networking events. If you’ve built up some resistance to self-promotion, now is the time to take some risks and raise your comfort level.

Make a Brag Document

To promote yourself effectively, you should be keenly aware of your body of work, what you love, where you excel, and your larger career trajectory. Of course, when you’re immersed in creative work, it can be easy to lose track of how much you’ve accomplished. To keep track of where you’ve been and find clues about where to go next, maintain a “brag document,” an inventory of what you’ve done and a key to analyzing how it all fits together. Julia Evans explains the purpose and substance of a brag document and provides an easy-to-use template so you can create your own. This can help you prepare to get recognized, negotiate, back up your claims, and angle for promotions and new opportunities.

Defend Your Ideas

One of the most useful tools of self-promotion is also an essential skill in giving effective presentations: the power to defend your ideas. To do this, you should understand your own work better than anyone else. You should be prepared to explain your decisions and to field questions, comments, objections, and criticisms in a way that preserves the integrity of your work while allowing healthy space for improvement. This is easier said than done, and Mike Monterio can help. As the author Design Is a Job and You’re My Favorite Client, he’s one of the go-to sources of insight on how to get tough and give your ideas the robust defense they deserve. In this fierce and funny keynote presentation, while geared toward graphic designers, can help anyone dramatically improve their mindset around explaining themselves and their work, which is a key to effective self-promotion.

Beware the Negativity Bias

According to the science of evolutionary psychology, our brains have evolved to help us merely survive; if we’re going to thrive, we have to do it ourselves, with intent. Historically, negative information was more important to our survival than positive information – a tiger chasing you deserves more attention than a sweet-smelling daffodil beside the trail – so we’re wired to prioritize the negative over the positive. In the modern world, our natural negativity bias can hold us back if we fixate on risks and weaknesses and don’t focus enough attention on the rewards we want and the strengths that can help us achieve them. To cultivate a winning mindset, it’s important to bolster ourselves with positive information. This means choosing our relationships carefully, being mindful of our self-talk, and learning the basics of positive psychology. After all, our strongest self-promotion comes from within.

At Artisan Creative, we love to showcase your talents and promote your skills to our clients. When you’re ready to take your business or your career to the next level, let’s get in touch!

When attempting to move up in creative careers, especially when switching fields, job seekers are haunted by one perennial frustration: it can be hard to get experience when you don’t already have experience.

Hiring managers and creative recruiters gravitate toward candidates who already have proven track records and know how to navigate the responsibilities that come with new opportunities. If you’re angling for a job or a career in an area in which your prior work history is not applicable or sufficient there are steps you can take to compensate for a lack of relevant professional experience. Career coach Martin McGovern suggests three moves that can open new opportunities that you may not be able to get with your CV alone.

Side Hustles

“Let’s say you want to be a copywriter at a food publication,” says McGovern. “Don’t wait for them to hire you before you start writing about food. Create your own food blog and get to work. I have a close friend who was able to break into the highest reaches of the culinary world through strategic use of Instagram, blogging, email marketing, and outreach. Give yourself permission to do the work and others will be clamoring to work with you.”

“Recently, I had a student who really wanted to work in sportstech as a web developer,” McGovern says. “So he started a sportstech meetup. Instantly, 35 people joined the group. He was able to leverage this to reach out to CEOs from his favorite companies and ask them to speak at the first event. After the event, they came up to him and asked if he was looking for an internship, which allowed him to completely circumvent the whole job search process.”

You can look for interesting communities in your area on Meetup.com, or attend a lecture from Creative Mornings. If you can’t find the right group, start your own. You may be surprised at how many like minds you find.

Professional Organizations

“Most cities have professional organizations for your line of work and they are always in need of help,” McGovern says. “Sign up, go to their events, volunteer, and join the board! This will show you are ambitious, forward thinking, part of the community, and knowledgeable in your desired field.”

Local creative communities tend to be particularly well served by professional organizations. For designers, there’s AIGA. Marketing professionals have the AMA with many other local alternatives. For those on the creative side of the technology world, exciting organizations such as World IA Day can always use volunteer help, providing ample opportunities in return to tap into your skills and make life-changing professional connections.

Whatever your current level of experience, you can always find creative ways to improve yourself and build a career you love. At Artisan Creative, we help creative professionals make the most of their many opportunities. Contact Artisan today to get started.

A job title is a noun. In terms of your professional life, it is what you are. If you want to unlock more opportunities, level up in your creative career, and maybe even feel better about yourself, we suggest thinking in verbs and focusing less on what you are and more on what you do.

Specificity kills ambiguity. Even if you’ve had some odd job titles in the past, you can strengthen your resume by emphasizing your day-to-day activities, larger objectives, and concrete contributions. Show your solid skills and concentrated work ethic. Eliminate jargon and explain your work in the most literal terms you can think of.

If you’re having trouble with this, work with an experienced creative recruiter to rephrase your resume and highlight real accomplishments that hiring managers will understand.

Quantify Accomplishments

When you write about your responsibilities, show that you took them seriously by connecting to the results you generated.

If you were in charge of a campaign or a project, be sure to mention its goals and how you achieved them. Especially if you delivered it in three days ahead of time or 25% below the requested budget, or with results that exceeded expectations by a factor of four. (Specific numbers and metrics, if applicable, are always good.)

Share Your Journey

Since our early days, humans have made sense of reality through storytelling and the metaphor of travel. Your resume should suggest a narrative arc, a journey from there, to here, to the next opportunity you’re angling for.

You can use classic story structures to show how you overcame adversity, built on your past experiences and achievements, and evolved. This will make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to picture you in a new position that represents a logical progression.

When your terminology is clear and purposeful, your career can be grand and glorious, and you can conjure many more lightbulb moments into watershed moments.

At Artisan Creative, we help creative professionals surpass their own expectations. Contact us today to learn more.

If you’ve spent any slice of time searching for a job, you’ve probably experienced this. At some point in a typical job interview, often right at the top, your interviewer will say, “tell me about yourself.”

Technically, this isn’t a question, it’s a prompt. It puts you on the spot. It can be intimidating!

However, with the right preparation – along with dashes of confidence, enthusiasm, and self-awareness – “tell me about yourself” can be your opportunity to shine.

In preparation for this inevitable inquiry, here are a few ideas to keep in mind.

Tell Your Story

Intrigue your interviewer, engage their interest, and make them want to learn more about you – make use of your storytelling skills. Go on a journey, from the moment you realized your professional passion, through the experiences that honed your skills, to the conversation at hand and the opportunity currently in front of you. Explain how you’ve grown and evolved, and share anecdotes that support your big idea (e.g., “I’m curious,” “I’m an enthusiastic collaborator,” or “I’m a shameless data geek.”). Some classic storytelling structures used by great writers can serve as outlines for your own tale of inspiration, perseverance, and success.

Show Some Personality

Refer to your hobbies and the unique life experiences you’ve had. If it seems appropriate, you can even sprinkle in a bit of self-effacing humor. With the human element in play, the “tell me about yourself” portion of your interview can help you stand out and determine whether you’ll be a match for this team and its culture.

“Always relate your answer directly to the job in question,” says Coach Tracy of The Career Launcher. “Tie your answer directly to the mission of the role and the challenges that typically are dealt with by job holders, and try to differentiate yourself with evidence of your skills for the job.”

Your interviewers want to be convinced that you’re right, as they need to know you’re the perfect match for this particular job. Whenever you tell your story, include variations each time to align with the details of the job description, the specific needs of the company, and how your skills and experience apply to the opportunity you’re applying for.

Spin the Table

Career coach Liz Ryan introduces “spinning the table,” a sophisticated method for transitioning out of your own story and into the substance of the interview, specifically your interviewer’s pain points, which you can then address. Answer your interviewer’s question, then ask them a question in turn. “You aren’t asking questions just for fun,” says Ryan. “You want to find out what the job is really about… You want to find out where the pain is because once you’ve got the hiring manager talking about their pain, the conversation can go to a completely different place.”

At Artisan Creative, we place creative, marketing and digital talent with the companies and opportunities that will give them a chance to do their best work and live their best lives. Contact us today and let our a.team find your dream team.

The beginning of a new year is a time to try new things, spruce up your perspective, and take stock of the opportunities in front of you. As a creative professional, you can take this cue to get serious about your job hunt. You’ll increase your odds of success when you act mindfully and deliberately and know clearly what you’re going to accomplish.

Whether you’re angling to rejoin the workforce, looking for a new role that better matches your goals, or simply want to keep your job-search skills sharper, here are some best practices that will give you an edge and help you find work you’ll love.

Be specific about your skills, write out what you’ve achieved, and how you hope to grow in the future. When you crystallize your goals and can see them in detail, you’ll find your job search gets more efficient when you explore the right niches. Collaborate with a creative recruiter to narrow down your job hunt and save yourself a lot of effort, time, and uncertainty.

Handle Your SEO

As part of cultivating the professional image you want to project, it’s increasingly essential that you pay close attention to how you appear on social media and the web. Make sure your digital portfolio and any associated sites are up-to-date and portray you in the way you want to be seen by recruiters, hiring managers, and others in your industry. Plan to get professional mileage from your social media channels, particularly LinkedIn, or lock down personal accounts if you don’t want them to be seen by curious strangers.

Work Your Network

The beginning of the year is a fine time to check in with your contacts. It’s easy to let your mentors and peers know you acknowledge and appreciate them. A quick note can pay massive dividends throughout the year. If you’re feeling lonesome, schedule some networking events. Commit to expanding your horizons and put yourself out there. A small interpersonal risk can go a long way.

Be the Best Version of Yourself

Getting specific, helps you appreciate the talents and skills that set you apart from the rest. Eliminate jargon and buzzwords from your resume and focus on ways in which you really stand out. Regard yourself as a brand and zoom in on the aspects that differentiate you from others. Learn from your experiences, emphasize your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and approach your job search from a spirit of optimism. When you’re unique, there’s no competition.

At Artisan Creative, we have decades of experiences in connecting creative professionals with the opportunities that help them soar. Take advantage of this season of renewal. Contact us today to get your 2019 off on the right foot and get the support you need to thrive through the year and throughout your career.

An on-line job application is your first impression with potential employers. Being conscious and deliberate about this crucial first step can help target your job search process. As you strive to learn and make each application a bit better than the last, you may find that applying for jobs can be an exciting chance to move your life and work to another level.

As talent advocates in the creative business, we have observed some consistent patterns as to which job applications are more likely to open doors. Here are a few best practices, as well as common mistakes to avoid – knowing these can save you a lot of time in your job search.

DO: Apply For Jobs You Want, and Tailor Each Application

If you must choose between quantity and quality of applications, go with quality every time. It’s easy to apply for jobs online – every hiring manager who posts an ad is likely to get deluged with applications. To get noticed in this flood, it is essential that you pay attention to the text and subtext of the ad.

Craft your profile so it aligns with the hiring manager’s expectations and present yourself in a way that communicates that you want not just any job, you want this job. If you are mindful about your application, it will stand out from the vast majority of those who simply apply for as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible.

DON’T: Spray and Pray

New job-hunting interfaces with one-click “Easy Apply” features make it possible to apply for dozens of jobs per hour, but that doesn’t necessarily make this a constructive practice. Make sure you exclusively apply for jobs that you understand and that you know are a good match for your goals, skills, and expectations. Always show enough consideration for the time of hiring managers and recruiters. Target the companies that you are really interested in. Your thoughtfulness will pay dividends over the course of your job search.

DO: Present Yourself Well

When creating your resume, cover letter, and other application materials, maintain a positive mindset and present yourself, your skills, and your accomplishments in the most appropriate light. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, and you’re looking for the best opportunity to contribute and to take your career to the next level.

DON’T: Fib or Exaggerate

If you tell the truth, it’s easy to remember! Duplicity isn’t worth the mental energy, and it is easy enough to find the truth in our super-connected electronic age. If you mislead about your capabilities, you may find yourself in an interview for which you are not qualified, which is scary and embarrassing. Be realistic and honest, and you will make more progress in your career over time.

DO: Make Your Application User-Friendly

Keep it short – resumes of one or two pages, and cover letters of no more than five succinct paragraphs, are more likely to be read in full. For resumes, use lists with bullets, clear headings, and easy-to-read typography. Be mindful of applicant tracking software, and use common industry terms and keywords that are likely to capture the attention of robots as well as humans.

DON’T: Go Overboard With Style

Unless you’re a graphic designer showing off a particular aesthetic sensibility, stick with a simple, minimalist resume that is easy on the eyes. Don’t include pictures, colors, flourishes, competing typefaces, or other distractions. Your resume should be functional first. Focus on communicating your value for maximum efficiency and impact.

Although there are many skills you can develop to make your job search easier, it can still be something of a numbers game. Even highly skilled and in-demand professionals sometimes need to practice patience for longer than they expect. When rejection comes, as it inevitably will at some point, it’s easy to take it personally.

Job hunting can be, in a word, scary!

Experts such as Artisan Creative’s a.team can help your search by sharing insight about a company and the nuances of a specific role and what the hiring manager is looking for.

Fortunately, there are few steps you can take to lessen the fear of encountering that job hunt terror, and maybe even find some excitement and optimism in this challenge most of us face at least a few times in our lives. Here are a few of our favorite ways to make your job hunt less scary.

1. Know What You Want

To find opportunities you can get excited about, you must first understand, in detail, what you are looking for. Talk to one of the professionals at Artisan Creative, ask friends who have jobs they enjoy, and do some serious introspection.

Do you love agency life, or would you rather work for an in-house team? What sorts of projects do you love to tackle? Is your ideal environment clean-cut and corporate, or do you work better with a dog curled up at your feet now and then?

2. Structure Your Search

Some websites will let you apply for dozens of opportunities, and indicating your interest in a role is only a small part of your job search. You should also follow up, tweak and perfect your resume and portfolio and do the right research.

In The Muse, Richard Moy describes a job-hunting process broken down by days of the week, designed to keep him time with his family and allow plenty of breathing room. Experiment with a structure like this, making sure to respect your personal priorities. You’ll probably have more success in your search if you are practicing self-care and living the best life you can.

3. Manage Your Emotions

Sometimes the lack of rewarding work can feel like an existential threat. You may worry about what might happen if your job search takes too long. When you’re in the throes of a stressful search, it can be easy to take professional rejection as a personal attack. You may get overly excited about one opportunity, only to be disappointed when it doesn’t come through. It can get harder to maintain self-esteem and personal well being.

Paradoxically, when you get emotionally caught up in the highs and lows of the job hunt, you may find it harder to present yourself as the calm and competent professional you know you can be. Then it gets even scarier!

Although the job hunt can be an emotionally intense experience, it can also be an excellent teacher. When you face challenges, you can learn to broaden your perspective and practice emotional control. Learn a simple mindfulness practice to manage your stress levels.

4. Keep It Confidential

If you are starting a new job search while employed, you can start by reaching out privately to recruiters, former colleagues, or anyone else who may be able to help, without drawing too much attention to yourself online. Your search will seem less scary if you have others helping you out.

5. Ask For Help When You Need It

To paraphrase the Rolling Stones’ anthem, you can’t always get what you want, but you can usually get what you need. When you’re scared or in need of help, guidance, or just sympathy, don’t be afraid to ask for it.

If you need specific help, try reaching out to your professional tribe through social media, or send a thoughtful email to a mentor you trust. Make sure you have a partner or close friend who will help talk you through your anxieties about job-hunting.

You can also talk to the experts at Artisan. We have years of experience helping creative professionals find great opportunity and turn fear into fortune. Contact us today to learn more. We hope you enjoy the 448th issue of our weekly a.blog.

In our 20+ years of working with some of the best creative talent in the business, we have seen hundreds of examples of resumes that get attention, get read, and get interviews. While every job-seeker should have a resume that highlights his or her uniqueness, we have observed some consistent patterns in effective resumes that we suggest all candidates keep in mind.

Here are five big ideas to help guide you as you write, revise, and refine your resume.

1. Goal

Your resume should be designed with a specific purpose in mind, usually landing an interview. Make sure that everything about it – every word, every stylistic decision, everything – is optimized for helping you achieve your goal.

Rather than having one resume you send out many times, try using several, slightly different resumes, tailored to different opportunities, potential employers, or specializations. This will give you the opportunity to experiment with “A/B testing,” or compare the results of minor tweaks.

For instance, rather than including an “Objective” that remains consistent, try summarizing your career or experience in a way that pertains directly to this opportunity. See which ones get better results and refine from there.

If nothing else, refresh your resume regularly – this gives you a chance to clarify or change your goal over time.

2. Style

Unless you are a designer and your aesthetic sensibility is a crucial part of your package, make your fonts, typefaces, and other formatting decisions are legible and user-friendly. Your resume should showcase your skills and experience, not itself.

If your resume is in Microsoft Word format, use standard typefaces such as Arial and Calibri, stick with one typeface throughout, and keep the size consistent at around 10- or 12-point. Unless you’re applying for an acting or modeling gig, you don’t need to include a photo – your work should make your first impression, at least until you have a chance to introduce yourself in person.

When in doubt, make your resume as clear, clean, and simple as you can.

3. Structure

Use bold headers and bulleted lists for easy “F-scanning,” and list your work experience sequentially, starting with the most recent.

Clearly label the name of the company, your job title, and the interval of time in which you worked there (including the month and the year, for extra transparency). There’s no need to go back further than ten years unless you have some very important or impressive experience outside of that range.

If needed, you can include a “Skills” section listing software programs in which you are an expert-level user or important

Challenge yourself to keep your resume to one or two pages in length. This will make it more appealing for hiring managers and will ensure that you highlight only your best and most important skills and experience.

4. Content

List your responsibilities, using active verbs (e.g. “handled” or “resolved,” rather than “responsible for”). Focus less on rote daily duties and more on challenges you overcame, goals you accomplished, and ways in which you helped your team succeed. This will help create a picture in the hiring manager’s mind of what you can do in this new opportunity.

While you should avoid empty jargon, you should be mindful of important industry terms that an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or other databases might scan for, and include those. If you are posting your resume on the web, it should be search-engine optimized, using keywords that are popular with hiring managers in your line of work.

5. Details

Again, designers are exempt from strict conservatism in style. Add a logo, splashes of color, or other touches that show off your signature aesthetic. Just don’t go overboard with it.

If you worked for an agency, include some of the clients you worked for and note the different sorts of projects you worked on. This can be more tangible for hiring managers outside the agency world. Make sure your URL or a link to your portfolio site is included in the resume.

Like everything else about job hunting, crafting the ideal resume is a process of trial and error – try different things, see what gets results, and learn from your experience. However, you can fast-track your career if you team up with experts who have knowledge, connections, and resources. To find out more about how to showcase yourself and discover new worlds of opportunity, contact Artisan Creative today.

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20 years of creative staffing & recruiting. Over the years we’ve learned a lot and will share our experiences with you in our 20/20 series: 20 blogs celebrating 20 years of creative recruiting!Enjoy!

In this day of fast-paced applicant tracking systems and online job submission portals, getting feedback about your qualifications, or input on the job is often a challenge. Frankly, it’s hard to know if anyone has even had a chance to review your submission.

As the automated world of online resume portals has become frustrating for many, you may want to consider working with a recruiter in your job search.

Below are 8 reasons why working with a recruiter is a good idea in your job search:

A recruiter is a consultant acting on your behalf. They are as committed to finding you that perfect new role as you are. They are pro-actively advocating for you and thinking of new opportunities.

A recruiter often understands the company culture and processes that would be much harder to find out on your own. Your own research can only go so far. Recruiters often provide details not listed on job descriptions.

A recruiter can negotiate salary and benefits on your behalf, based on the parameters you have shared. They are also knowledgeable about a client or a specific role’s salary range and benefits offering so they can remove the guess work.

When recruiters are engaged on a candidate search, resumes from recruiters go to the top of the pile (assuming your recruiter has a good relationship with the client).

An extra set of professional eyes on your resume or portfolio is incredibly important (especially, when there are employment gaps or just to eliminate those typos). They can consult on needed edits or changes.

A recruiter has access to opportunities not listed on job boards.

Your recruiter can help you prepare for the interview when the time comes.

A recruiter with a great reputation for representing outstanding talent adds value to your brand.

Having a recruiter on your team can be the difference between landing the perfect role and sitting home by yourself wishing for that great job. Consider signing up with a recruitment agency who places people in your area of expertise. You’ll be glad you did!

If you are looking for a role in the creative or marketing area, see how Artisan Creative can help.

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20 years of recruiting and being part of the Los Angeles creative community this year. In this time we have learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you in the first blog of our 20/20 series. 20 blogs celebrating 20 years of creative recruiting! Enjoy.

Do you find job fairs are a whirlwind of elevator pitches and business cards? You’ve given your pitch to an employer, now what? We’ve put together a checklist to guide you and ensure you get the best out of the day.

This Saturday, Artisan Creative will be joining TechJobsLA for a job fair aimed at creatives and developers. We have sponsored and participated in this event for the past several years and look forward to seeing you there.

411 on TechJobsLA

TechJobsLA is a specialized job fair aimed at designers and developers including a series of incredible workshops and speakers. This year Artisan Creative’s founder, Jamie Douraghy will be holding a workshop on Discovering your Why. We all know what we do, and how we do it…do we know why we do what we do? Come join us.

TechJobsLA is an opportunity to meet recruiters, hiring managers, startups and companies as well as a chance to network and learn new skills. This year’s event will have a dedicated digital entertainment panel. They’ll be discussing trends and answering questions. Artisan Creative founder, Jamie Douraghy will be holding a Discover Your Why Workshop.

Here are 20 tips to prepare for this and any future job fair:

BEFORE:

Modify your resume so you have tailored versions to suit specific industries and companies.

Print out your resume. Make a lot of copies, and we mean a lot! Keep them in a folder.

Make a one-sheet of your best projects to go with your resume.

Research beforehand to see what companies will be there.

Dress well. Dress as if you’re going for an interview. We’re in the creative industry — suited and booted isn’t always necessary, but do dress well.

Be early. Get there early so you can mingle before the crowds come in

Volunteer. Where possible volunteer to help out during the day. You’ll get a first chance to meet the exhibitors, have one one one conversations, and make an impression.

DURING:

Skill match. Each booth has a focus. If a booth doesn’t match your skills thank them and move onto the next one.

Open jobs. At each table, ask about their open jobs and see if there’s anything that’s a match for you. This is a perfect opportunity for face-to-face time with hiring managers and recruiters.

Collect business cards to keep track of who you have met. If you work in design, make sure your card is unique. At the last TechJobsLA, Artisan Creative received a scratch and sniff card! Loved it! How’s that for making an impression?

Have your elevator pitch! Don’t be vague when you’re asked: “What is it that you do?” Give a concise and clear answer e.g. “I’m a visual designer specializing in entertainment and technology. I’ve worked with XYZ and now I’m looking for a senior position.” It’s much more valuable to both you and the employer.

Attend workshops. What you can learn from workshops can be invaluable to your personal and professional development.

Ask questions of the speakers and companies – it’s an easy way to stand out.

Take a notebook to jot down any job leads and next steps.

Handshakes & Eye contact. Be firm. Make a connection.

Phone usage to be kept to a minimum. Emails and Instagram will have to wait.

Be friendly. Talk to the other attendees. You never know where your next job lead can come from.

AFTER:

Follow-up by emailing a copy of your resume and thanking them for their time.

Jobs Alerts. Sign up for RSS feeds and job alerts of companies you met.

Reflect on the day and what you did well.

Are you attending this Saturday’s TechJobsLA at BLANKSPACES DTLA? Come and have a chat with us at our table. Please review our open jobs page ahead of time, and follow us on social for tips on interviewing, resumes and job search best practices.